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[Phyl]

White-throated Sparrow, continued





Sources:

Falls, J. B. and J. G. Kopachena. 1994. White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), The Birds of North America, No. 128 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Robinson J. C. 1990. An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Tennessee. Univ. of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.

Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. A. A. Knopf, New York, NY.

[Phyl]

Dark-eyed Junco
Junco hyemalis


The Dark-eyed Junco, formerly known as the Slate-colored Junco and commonly called a snowbird, is found across Tennessee in the winter and breeds in the mountains of East Tennessee.   In fact at higher elevations, it can be the most conspicuous and abundant nesting bird.

Juncos are familiar to most Tennesseans because they are easily identified, relatively tame, forage in flocks on the ground, and visit bird feeders. Their summer range extends across Alaska and Canada, southward to southern California and northern Georgia. The winter range extends from southern Canada across the United States to northern Mexico.

Over most of Tennessee, Dark-eyed Juncos are present only from early October to mid-April.

Description: The Dark-eyed Junco is gray above and white below, with white outer tail-feathers, a dark eye, and a pink bill. Males and females are similar, but females average paler and browner. Juveniles (May-August) are similar to adults, but have fine streaking on the chest, head, and back.

Length: 6.25"
Wingspan: 9.25"
Weight: 0.67 oz

Voice: The song is an even musical trill lasting about 2 seconds. Calls include a short, hard tsip, and excited high-pitched twitters.

Similar Species:

No other sparrow is so plainly marked gray or gray-brown with white outer tail feathers.
Habitat: Dark-eyed Juncos breed in coniferous and mixed forests, and on grassy balds. They winter in fields, suburbs, edges of parks, around farms, and along rural roadsides and stream edges.

Diet: Seeds and insects.

Nesting and reproduction: In Tennessee, males begin returning to breeding territories in late March, and the start of egg laying is influenced by elevation and spring temperatures. Juncos will raise 2 to 3 broods during the breeding season.

Clutch Size: Usually 4 eggs, with a range of 3 to 5 eggs.

Incubation: The female incubates the eggs for 12 to 13 days.

Fledging: Both adults feed the young, which leave the nest between 11 and 14 days after hatching.

Nest: The female usually builds the open cup-nest in a depression on the ground or a sloping bank, well hidden by vegetation. The nest is constructed of grasses, moss, and rootlets, and lined with finer material.

[Phyl]

Dark-eyed Junco, continued


Status in Tennessee: The Dark-eyed Junco is a common migrant and winter resident across the state arriving by early October and departing by mid-April. It is a common breeder and year round resident in the mountains of East Tennessee, especially above 4,000 feet.

Map of Dark-eyed Junco eBird observations in Tennessee


Fun Facts:

Dark-eyed Juncos breed across virtually all of North America, and junco populations differ in plumage and bill color, migratory behavior, and body size across that range. Until the 1970s, these different looking populations were split into 5 distinct species: the Slate-colored, White-winged, Oregon, Gray-headed, and Guadalupe Junco. Not all taxonomists agree with the American Ornithologists' Union's new classification.
Dark-eyed Juncos breeding in the Appalachian Mountains have shorter wings than the migrants that join them each winter. Longer wings help the migrants fly long distances.
The oldest known Dark-eyed Junco in the wild was 11 years 4 months old.
Obsolete English Names: slate-colored junco, gray-headed junco, snowbird

[Phyl]

Dark-eyed Junco, continued

Best places to see in Tennessee: Dark-eyed Juncos can be found statewide during the winter. In East Tennessee, year round residents can be found in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Carver's Gap on Roan Mountain, Cherokee National Forest, and other mountains, especially above 4,000 feet.







Sources:

Nicholson, C. P. 1997. Atlas of Breeding Birds of Tennessee. Univ. of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.

Nolan, Jr., V., E. D. Ketterson, D. A. Cristol, C. M. Rogers, E. D. Clotfelter, R. C. Titus, S. J. Schoech and E. Snajdr. 2002. Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), The Birds of North America, No. 716 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. A. A. Knopf, New York

[Phyl]

Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis





"Redbird" is a popular common name for the Northern Cardinal. This non-migratory bird is abundant in Tennessee and can be found in a variety of habitats from suburban neighborhoods and rural areas, to bottomland forests and mountainsides.   A cardinal will often spend its entire life within a mile of where it hatched.

The range of the Northern Cardinal extends throughout eastern and central North America from southern Canada into parts of Mexico and Central America. That range has expanded northward since the early 1800s, likely because of milder winter temperatures, increased nesting habitat, and the presence of bird feeders.

Description: The male and female look very different, but both have a prominent crest and a red cone-shaped bill.

The male is a brilliant crimson red with a black facemask; the female is mostly grayish-brown with reddish wings, crest, and tail. Her facemask is gray to black and is less defined than that of the male.

Juvenile birds (April-September) look like the adult female but are duller and have a black bill that gets more orange through the fall.

Length: 8.75"
Wingspan: 12"
Weight: 1.6 oz

Voice: The song is a series of clear repeated, usually 2-note phrases, purdy purdy purdy or whoit cheer whoit cheer. The call is similar to two coins hitting each other.

Similar Species:

This species cannot be easily confused with any other species found in Tennessee, although the only other all red songbird in the state is the Summer Tanager.
Habitat: Northern Cardinals can be found in a variety of habitats but require open patches of ground for feeding, trees for singing perches, and dense, low growth for nesting. Habitats include woodland with thick understory, forest edges, swamps, streamside thickets, hedgerows, and shrubbery around homes and parks.

Diet: Seeds, fruits, buds, and insects. Frequently visits bird feeders.

Nesting and reproduction: In late February and March, males and females start defending their territory with song, displays, and mild combat. Male cardinals can be so aggressive that they may defend their territory from their own reflection in a window or a mirror! Nest building usually begins in April and cardinals usually raise at least two broods in a year.

Clutch Size: Usually 3 eggs, with a range of 1 to 5 eggs.

Incubation: The female incubates the eggs for 12 to 13 days.

Fledging: Both the male and female care for the nestlings, which leave the nest in 9 to 11 days.

Nest: The female chooses the nest site and builds the nest with occasional help from the male. The nest is an open bowl of weed stems and twigs, and lined with grass. It often contains paper or plastic in the outer layer. The nest is placed in a thick tangle of vines or twigs in a shrub or small tree, and the average nest height in Tennessee is 5 feet, with a range from 1 foot to 12 feet.

[Phyl]

Northern Cardinal. continued

Status in Tennessee: The Northern Cardinal is an abundant permanent statewide resident. The population is currently stable or slightly declining.

Map of Northern Cardinal eBird observations in Tennessee


Fun Facts:

Unlike most northern songbirds, both males and females sing. When the female sings from the nest it appears that she is providing the male with information about whether to bring food to the nest. A mated pair shares song phrases, but the female may sing a longer and slightly more complex song than the male.
The population density and range of the Northern Cardinal has increased over the last 200 years, largely in response to habitat changes made by people.
The male cardinal fiercely defends its breeding territory from other male cardinals. When a male sees its reflection in glass surfaces (i.e. windows and mirrors), it frequently will spend many hours daily trying to fight the imaginary intruder. This may go on for the entire breeding season. One remedy is to tape paper on the outside of the offending window until he looses interest.
Not all male cardinals look the same. Brighter red males hold territories that have denser vegetation, feed young at higher rates, and have greater reproductive success than duller males.
The oldest known wild Northern Cardinal was 15 years 9 months old.

[Phyl]

Northern Cardinal. continued

Obsolete English Names: redbird, common cardinal, eastern cardinal, cardinal grosbeak, cardinal redbird

Best places to see in Tennessee: The Northern Cardinal is an abundant year round resident across the state.





Sources:

Halkin, S.L. and S.U. Linville. 1999. Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), The Birds of North America, No. 440 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Nicholson, C. P. 1997. Atlas of Breeding Birds of Tennessee. Univ. of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.

Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. A. A. Knopf, New York, NY.

[Phyl]

Rose-breasted Grosbeak,
Pheucticus ludovicianus



The male Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a striking bird with a bold black and white plumage, punctuated by a deep rose triangle in the middle of the white breast.  The female's plumage is completely different and resembles a large brown streaky sparrow.

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak spends much of its time in the treetops and its song and distinctive metallic, chink, call-note, makes it easier to find. Unlike many songbirds, both the male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are known to sing.

This species is completely migratory traveling between the breeding range over most of Canada and the eastern United States, to its wintering grounds stretching from southern Mexico to northern South America.

In Tennessee, the Rose-breasted Grosbeak nests only at higher elevations in the mountains in East Tennessee, but is a common spring and fall migrants statewide.

Description: The breeding male has a bright rosy red triangle in the middle of a white breast. The head and back are black, the rump is white, and the wings and tail are black with white patches that are especially obvious in flight.

The female resembles a large sparrow. She has a brown streaked back, a streaked white breast, two white wing-bars, and a boldly patterned face with a white stripe over the eye.

The under-wing is rose-colored in the male and yellow in the female, and both have a heavy pinkish-white to slate gray conical bill. First-year birds (August-March) resemble the female.

Length: 8"
Wingspan: 12.5"
Weight: 1.6 oz

Voice: The song is a melodious series, of robin-like phrases, sometimes described as sounding like an American Robin with singing lessons. The call-note is a sharp, metallic chink, similar to a sneaker squeaking on a basketball court.

Similar Species:

The female Purple Finch resembles the female Rose-breasted Grosbeak, but is smaller with a relatively smaller head, a distinct moustache-stripe, a dark bill, and no white in the wings.
Habitat: Breeds in deciduous and mixed woodlands, especially at the edges, second-growth woodlands, orchards, suburban parks and gardens. Winters in a variety of open tropical forests.

Diet: Insects, seeds, fruits, and buds.

Nesting and reproduction: Rose-breasted Grosbeaks start nesting soon after they arrive in spring. Unlike most songbirds, both the male and female sing, including while they are incubating on the nest.

Clutch Size: Usually 4 eggs, with a range of 1 to 5 eggs.

Incubation: The male and female incubate the eggs for 13 to 14 days.

Fledging: Both adults feed the young, which fledge in 9 to 12 days after hatching. They remain dependent on the adults for another 3 weeks.

Nest: The female, and sometimes the male, builds the cup-shaped nest using twigs, rootlets and weed stems, and lines it with finer materials. It is usually placed in a variety of shrubs and small trees, but occasionally high on the branch of a deciduous tree. Nest heights range from 4 feet to 40 feet, with an average 13 feet above the ground.

[Phyl]

Rose-breasted Grosbeak,, continued

Status in Tennessee: The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is an uncommon to fairly common summer resident of the East Tennessee mountains. In the rest of the state, it is a fairly common migrant found from mid-April through mid-May, and again from mid-September through mid-October.

Fun Facts:

Rose-breasted Grosbeak nests are so thinly constructed that it is often possible to see the eggs through the nest from below.
The male Rose-breasted Grosbeak incubates the eggs during the day, accounting for about 1/3 of the time, while the female incubates over night. Both sexes sing quietly to each other when they change places. The male will sometimes sing his normal song when incubating on the nest.
Obsolete English Names: purple-headed grosbeak

Best places to see in Tennessee: Frozen Head State Natural Area above 3,000 feet, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Unaka and Roan Mountain.









Sources:

Nicholson, C. P. 1997. Atlas of Breeding Birds of Tennessee. Univ. of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.

Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. A. A. Knopf, New York, NY.

[Phyl]

Blue Grosbeak,
 Passerina caerulea



Blue Grosbeaks are somewhat secretive but can be found across Tennessee during the summer months. They arrive by the end of April and depart by the end of September, and occur in brushy fields, and hedgerows adjoining grasslands and croplands.

Interestingly, they only started nesting in Tennessee in 1945, and had spread across the state by the mid-1960s. The reasons for this dramatic range expansion are unknown.

Blue Grosbeaks are migratory birds and range across most of the southern half of the United States into Mexico and Central America. The winter range includes southern Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Description: The male and female are very different in appearance, but share the large cone-shaped bill. The male is deep blue with two large rusty-brown wing-bars; the female is mostly brown with two buffy-brown wing-bars.

Juveniles (August-March) resemble the female; males in their first summer (March-September) have a plumage that is intermediate between that of the adult female and adult male, with variable amounts of blue mixed with brown.

Length: 6.75"
Wingspan: 11"
Weight: 0.98 oz

Voice: The song is a series of variable rich warbled notes and phrases, typically quiet in tone. The call is a soft metallic chink.

Similar Species:

The Indigo Bunting male and female are similar to the male and female Blue Grosbeak, but are much smaller, have smaller bills, and no wing-bars.
Eastern Bluebirds have a reddish chest, a white belly, and a thin bill.
Female and juvenile Brown-headed Cowbirds lack wing-bars and may be streaked on the breast.
Habitat: Blue Grosbeaks can be found in early successional habitats such as brushy pastures and abandoned fields with numerous shrubs and saplings, also hedgerows adjoining hayfields and fields of small grains, and recent clearcuts.

Diet: Insects, other invertebrates, and seeds.

Nesting and reproduction: Nest building begins in late May. Blue Grosbeaks commonly produce two broods per year.

Clutch Size: Usually 3 or 4 eggs, with a range of 2 to 5 eggs.

Incubation: Incubation is done only by the female, and lasts for 11 to 12 days.

Fledging: Both parents feed the young, which leave the nest in 9 to 13 days.

Nest: The nest is a compact cup made of twigs, bark, rootlets, and lined with finer material. The outer shell usually contains pieces of snake skin, paper or plastic. It is usually well concealed in shrubs or vine tangles along forest edge or roadsides. Tennessee nest heights range from just over one foot to 9 feet, with an average of about 3 feet above the ground.

[Phyl]

Blue Grosbeak,, continued

Status in Tennessee: The Blue Grosbeak is a fairly common summer resident across Tennessee, arriving by the end of April and departing by late September. The population in Tennessee is still increasing at a significant rate.

Map of Blue Grosbeak eBird observations in Tennessee



Fun Facts:

The first record of a Blue Grosbeak in Tennessee was in Memphis in 1929. Few observations followed until a small breeding population was discovered in 1945 in McNairy County. The first Blue Grosbeak in Knox County was found in 1948, in the Nashville area in 1950, and near Chattanooga in 1953. By the mid-1960s Blue Grosbeaks were established throughout the state. The reason for this sudden increase is unknown as apparently suitable habitat had long been available.
Most Blue Grosbeaks nesting in the eastern United States probably migrate across the Caribbean, as individuals are regularly sighted on Caribbean islands during spring and fall migration.

Best places to see in Tennessee: Blue Grosbeaks can be found across the state except at the highest elevations, from the end of April to late September. They occupy early successional habitats such as brushy pastures, abandoned fields with numerous shrubs and saplings, hedgerows adjoining hayfields and fields of small grains, and recent clearcuts.











Sources:
Ingold, J. L. 1993. Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea), The Birds of North America, No. 79 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union.

Nicholson, C. P. 1997. Atlas of Breeding Birds of Tennessee. Univ. of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.

Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. A. A. Knopf, New York, NY.

[Phyl]

Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea


If you see a remarkably all-blue bird along the roadside during the summer in Tennessee, it is more than likely an Indigo Bunting.

Unlike the Eastern Bluebird with its rusty and white belly, the male Indigo Bunting is entirely blue, startlingly so when seen in good light. This is one of the most abundant and widely distributed birds nesting in the state, and is found in shrubby areas and weedy fields at all elevations.  The male is a constant singer well into the summer, and his double-phrased song is fairly distinctive.

Indigo Buntings are completely migratory traveling over 1,000 miles each way between their summer range in eastern North America and their winter range in very southern Florida, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. They arrive in Tennessee in mid-April and depart by mid-October.

Description: The Indigo Bunting is a rather slim bird with a short, thick bill. During the breeding season adult males are a solid deep blue; during the non-breeding season (September-April), males are brown with a variable amount of blue scattered throughout. The female is a dull brown year round, with a whitish throat, faint buff wing-bars, and often fine, faint streaks on the breast.

Length: 5.5"
Wingspan: 8"
Weight: 0.51 oz

Voice: The song is a series of warbling phrases that are usually repeated. Call notes include a sharp spik, and a buzzy note often given in flight.

Similar Species:

The Blue Grosbeak male and female are similar to the male and female Indigo Bunting. The grosbeak, however, is larger, has a much thicker bill, and obvious rusty wing-bars.
Eastern Bluebirds have a reddish chest and white belly.
Habitat: Indigo Buntings breed in a variety of brushy and weedy habitats along edges of cultivated land, woods, roads, powerline rights-of-way, and in openings in coniferous and deciduous forests. They winter in weedy fields, citrus orchards, and weedy cropland.

Diet: Small insects, spiders, seeds, buds, and berries.

Nesting and reproduction: Males will occasionally mate with two females in his territory. Indigo Buntings commonly produce two or more broods per year.

Clutch Size: Usually 3 to 4 eggs, with a range of 2 to 5 eggs.

Incubation: The female incubates the eggs for 12 to 13 days.

Fledging: Most of the feeding is done by the female, and the young leave the nest in about 10 days.

Nest: The female chooses the nest site and builds the nest. It is a well-made open cup of dead leaves, coarse grasses, stems, and strips of bark, held in place with spider web, and lined with fine grasses or deer hair. It is placed in a shrub or an herbaceous plant close to ground. The average nest height in Tennessee is 3 feet above the ground.

[Phyl]

Indigo Bunting, continued
Status in Tennessee: The Indigo Bunting is a summer resident, and one of the most abundant breeding birds in the state. It arrives in mid-April and departs by mid-October. While still very common, they are declining in the state.

Map of Indigo Bunting eBird observations in Tennessee


Fun Facts:

Indigo Buntings are nocturnal migrants and use the stars, setting sun location, and other landmarks to navigate. They learn to orient by the night sky as a young bird observing the stars.
Indigo Buntings breed across eastern North America. Banding studies have shown that birds nesting in the western part of the breeding range migrate to the western part of the wintering range, and birds from the eastern part of the breeding range, winter in the eastern wintering range.
Obsolete English Names: indigo painted finch, blue finch, indigo bird

Best places to see in Tennessee: The Indigo Bunting can be found statewide from mid-April to mid-October in a variety of dense brushy habitats including brushy fields, fencerows, forest edges and natural openings in both coniferous and deciduous forests.

[Phyl]

Indigo Bunting, continued







Sources:

Nicholson, C. P. 1997. Atlas of Breeding Birds of Tennessee. Univ. of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.

Payne, R. B. 2006. Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea), The Birds of North America, No. 4 (A. Poole, Peter Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC; The American Ornithologists' Union.

Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. A. A. Knopf, New York, NY.

[Phyl]

Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus


The kon-ke-ree song of the male Red-winged Blackbird is a sure indication that spring is on the way.  This bird is familiar to most Tennesseans because it is very common, found in the state year round, and the males are easy to identify and often sing from prominent perches.

The females, on the other hand, might be mistaken for a large sparrow by novice birdwatchers. Red-winged Blackbirds nest in shrubby swamps, grasslands, and in the cattails around farm ponds. In the winter, they gather with other blackbird species in enormous roosts that can number in the hundreds of thousands, even millions, of birds.

Their breeding range covers most of Canada and the United States and extends south to southern Mexico. Most Canadian nesters spend the winter in the lower 48 states.

Description: The male and female look very different, but both have sharply pointed bills and rounded wings in flight. The male is completely black with a red shoulder patch edged in yellow; the female is brown and heavily streaked with a lighter stripe over the eye.

Length: 8.75"
Wingspan: 13"
Weight: 1.8 oz

Voice: The song has several liquid introductory notes, followed by a gurgling, harsh kon-ke-ree, ending with a trill. Calls include a dry kek, and a clear descending zeer given by the male.

Similar Species:

Female Red-winged Blackbirds resemble sparrows but are much larger, and have a bill that is longer and more pointed than a sparrow's bill.
Habitat: Marshes and grassy fields, often near water.

Diet: Insects, seeds, and grain.

Nesting and reproduction: Male Red-winged Blackbirds are polygynous, and may have several female mates in their territory. Males start defending territories in March and peak egg-laying is in late April. Females usually raise one brood per season.

Clutch Size: The range is from 2 to 5 eggs, with 3 or 4 most common.

Incubation: The female incubates the eggs for 10 to 12 days.

Fledging: The female does most of the feeding with some help from the male. Chicks fledge in 10 to 14 days and are independent in 2 to 3 weeks.

Nest: Females choose the nest site and construct the nest in 3 to 6 days. It is a fairly large open cup woven of grass or marsh vegetation and wet leaves, and lined with fine grass. Early nests are often placed in clumps of cattails, later nests in shrubs, and small trees. The average nest height in Tennessee is 3 feet above the ground.